Sunday, November 2, 2008
Saturday, November 1, 2008
sample from Hearts Under Construction
Friends, here is an opportunity to 'blog' your insite after reading the devotional.. Brenda
May 3 Teapotting
Jeremiah 18:4 - and the vessel he was making of clay was spoiled in the potter’s hand, and he reworked it into another vessel, as it seemed good to the potter to do. (RSV)
One day, after visiting a pottery, I began to see how much work went into the making of a fine china teapot. Each one begins with a lump of ugly, plain clay that is pinched and reshaped until the potter is pleased with the texture. Then it is whizzed around on a wheel till even the watchers feel a bit dizzy. Next it is ‘fired’, placed in an oven so hot that it seems it must melt under the pressure. And if it survives that? (because some pieces don’t and will be discarded). Painted with smelly, stinky paint that is totally foreign to its original nature. At last, a second firing that is twice as hot as the first and a long sit on a shelf to cool off. Eventually, if the clay will take all the pressure, hold the shape it has been pressed into, withstand the firing, painting and the shelf-it will be able to serve refreshing comfort to those around it.
Where are we in the Master Potter’s hands? Submitting to life’s pressures or trying to escape them? Standing firm in our particular furnace, peacefully sitting on a shelf or feeling quite useless there? God forbid that any of us should be among the discarded.
Prayer-Dear Master Potter, we are not really comfortable where we are now. We thought our lives would be different. We expected more happiness, less loneliness, fewer silly mistakes. But here we are. Still in your hands! We await the our next step in your firing process. Help us stand the pressure so that we will become like fine china teapots, pouring out for you. For Christ’s Sake. Amen
Personal Reflection-
May 3 Teapotting
Jeremiah 18:4 - and the vessel he was making of clay was spoiled in the potter’s hand, and he reworked it into another vessel, as it seemed good to the potter to do. (RSV)
One day, after visiting a pottery, I began to see how much work went into the making of a fine china teapot. Each one begins with a lump of ugly, plain clay that is pinched and reshaped until the potter is pleased with the texture. Then it is whizzed around on a wheel till even the watchers feel a bit dizzy. Next it is ‘fired’, placed in an oven so hot that it seems it must melt under the pressure. And if it survives that? (because some pieces don’t and will be discarded). Painted with smelly, stinky paint that is totally foreign to its original nature. At last, a second firing that is twice as hot as the first and a long sit on a shelf to cool off. Eventually, if the clay will take all the pressure, hold the shape it has been pressed into, withstand the firing, painting and the shelf-it will be able to serve refreshing comfort to those around it.
Where are we in the Master Potter’s hands? Submitting to life’s pressures or trying to escape them? Standing firm in our particular furnace, peacefully sitting on a shelf or feeling quite useless there? God forbid that any of us should be among the discarded.
Prayer-Dear Master Potter, we are not really comfortable where we are now. We thought our lives would be different. We expected more happiness, less loneliness, fewer silly mistakes. But here we are. Still in your hands! We await the our next step in your firing process. Help us stand the pressure so that we will become like fine china teapots, pouring out for you. For Christ’s Sake. Amen
Personal Reflection-
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